Overhang (architecture)
Encyclopedia
An overhang in architecture is a protruding structure which may provide protection for lower levels. Overhangs on two sides of Pennsylvania Dutch barns protect doors, windows, and other lower level structure. Overhangs on all four sides of barn
Barn
A barn is an agricultural building used for storage and as a covered workplace. It may sometimes be used to house livestock or to store farming vehicles and equipment...

s is common in Swiss architecture. An Overhanging eave is the edge of a roof, protruding outwards, beyond the side of the building generally to provide weather protection.

History

Overhangs are also common in medieval Indian architecture
Indian architecture
The architecture of India is rooted in its history, culture and religion. Indian architecture progressed with time and assimilated the many influences that came as a result of India's global discourse with other regions of the world throughout its millennia-old past...

, especially the Mughal architecture
Mughal architecture
Mughal architecture, an amalgam of Islamic, Persian, Turkish and Indian architecture, is the distinctive style developed by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries in what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. It is symmetrical and decorative in style.The Mughal dynasty was...

 (16th -18th century), where it is known as Chhajja
Chhajja
A chhajja is the projecting or overhanging eaves or cover of a roof, usually supported on large carved brackets. It was used extensively by Hindus for thousands of years, and then more recently borrowed by the invading Muslim empires into the common vocabulary of “Mughal Architecture."It forms...

, often supported by an ornate corbel
Corbel
In architecture a corbel is a piece of stone jutting out of a wall to carry any superincumbent weight. A piece of timber projecting in the same way was called a "tassel" or a "bragger". The technique of corbelling, where rows of corbels deeply keyed inside a wall support a projecting wall or...

 and seen in Hindu temple architecture
Hindu temple architecture
India's temple architecture developed from the sthapathis' and shilpis' creativit, but n general these are from the Vishwakarma . A small Hindu temple consists of an inner sanctum, the garbha griha or womb-chamber, in which the image is housed, often circumambulation, a congregation hall, and...

 as well. Later it was adapted into the Indo-Saracenic
Indo-Saracenic
The Indo-Saracenic Revival was an architectural style movement by British architects in the late 19th century in British India...

 architecture which flourished during the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...

. Extensive overhangs are incorporated the early Buddhist architecture
Buddhist architecture
Buddhist religious architecture developed in South Asia in the 3rd century BC.Three types of structures are associated with the religious architecture of early Buddhism: monasteries , stupas, and temples ....

, seen in early Buddhist temples, later became part of the Tibetan architecture, Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture
Chinese architecture refers to a style of architecture that has taken shape in East Asia over many centuries. The structural principles of Chinese architecture have remained largely unchanged, the main changes being only the decorative details...

, and eventually the traditional Japanese architecture
Japanese architecture
' originated in prehistoric times with simple pit-houses and stores that were adapted to a hunter-gatherer population. Influence from Han Dynasty China via Korea saw the introduction of more complex grain stores and ceremonial burial chambers....

, where it became a striking feature.

It was one of the most common features of American colonial architecture of New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 and Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, starting 17th century, which had an overhanging second story, called 'jetty' then, which usually ran across the front of the house, sometimes around it. Then in early 20th century it was adapted into the Prairie School architecture, with architects like Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright
Frank Lloyd Wright was an American architect, interior designer, writer and educator, who designed more than 1,000 structures and completed 500 works. Wright believed in designing structures which were in harmony with humanity and its environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture...

, and thus made way into the modern architecture
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...

 as well. An overhang may also refer to an awning
Awning
An awning or overhang is a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building. It is typically composed of canvas woven of acrylic, cotton or polyester yarn, or vinyl laminated to polyester fabric that is stretched tightly over a light structure of aluminium, iron or steel, possibly...

or other protective elements.
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